My husband is taking Lipitor 20 mg daily . He was on this for almost 3 years now . Throughout these years we have noticed that his ALT & AST had been increasing . At the latest his Md had advised him to stop taking the lipitor and recheck his lipid panel in a month . His values was AST-59 ALT -72 . He drink one beer or wine a night at times . Do we need to be worried about this ? pls advise thanks !

Response from Dr. McGovern

Lipitor and other statins commonly cause mild abnormalities of liver function tests, but a recent study demonstrated just that- they were mild and not concerning.

If your husband has high lipids though, he may be at risk for fatty liver. If his liver function tests are persistently abnormal and he is overweight, it is reasonable to see a liver specialist for a liver biopsy to see if he has liver disease related to fatty liver (steatohepatitis).

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